Chelsea will be without star man Hakim Ziyech but both Christian Pulisic and Timo Werner are in line to start when they take on Everton this weekend.
Chelsea will be aiming to move to the top of the Premier League standings when they lock horns with Carlo Ancelotti’s Everton side at Goodison Park on Saturday night.
Chelsea manager Frank Lampard does not have any fresh injury concerns heading into the game, although Hakim Ziyech and Callum Hudson-Odoi, both of whom missed the midweek game against FK Krasnodar due to hamstring issues, will not be available once again.
Frank Lampard confirms Hudson-Odoi ??????? and Ziyech ?? are still out. Pulisic ?? felt slight issue with hamstring after Leeds but is training normally. #EVECHE #CFC pic.twitter.com/jR49LVlVbC
— RouteOneFootball (@Route1futbol) December 10, 2020
“We’re the same as we were in midweek Hakim Ziyech and Callum [Hudson-Odoi] we know are out for around a couple of weeks,” Lampard confirmed in his pre-match presser. There will be wholesale changes made to the side that started in midweek, with the manager expected to recall all his regulars for the trip to Goodison Park.
The first change will come in goal, where summer signing Edouard Mendy should return to the side after making way for Kepa Arrizabalaga against Krasnodar. The entire Chelsea backline will bear a new look as Reece James and Ben Chilwell start as the full-backs, flanking the centre-back duo of Kurt Zouma and Thiago Silva.
N’Golo Kante, who made a brief cameo from the bench in the Champions League clash, should return to the side, starting at the base of the Chelsea midfield. Mason Mount should also come back into the starting XI for the Blues against Everton. Jorginho and Mateo Kovacic will make way for the duo.
Billy Gilmour enjoyed a fine game against Krasnodar earlier in the week. However, given that he has only returned from a long-term injury, Lampard is likely to bench him at Goodison. This would open up the space for Kai Havertz to slot in as the third midfielder, after having featured on the right flank in the European encounter.
With Ziyech and Hudson-Odoi ruled out of the game, Christian Pulisic should start against Everton, having not featured in midweek. The USMNT star has had an injury-riddled campaign thus far, and Lampard admitted in his presser that he was still trying to find the best way to utilise the attacker without risking further problems.
“Christian is still a work in progress. I don’t want to call this an injury in midweek because if it had been a different type of game then I might have used him. We know his abilities and he showed them when he came on against Leeds last week. I just have to find the right way to get the best out of him quickly and consistently,” Lampard said.
The ex-Borussia Dortmund star should start at Goodison Park on the right flank while Timo Werner, who has failed to find the back of the net in his last six games in all competitions, should get the nod on the left. Spearheading the attack for Chelsea against Everton should be in-form striker Olivier Giroud, with Tammy Abraham dropping to the bench.
Chelsea Predicted XI: Mendy; James, Zouma, Silva, Chilwell; Havertz, Kante, Mount; Pulisic, Giroud, Werner
Fantastic line up.